Trailer hitch



April 1940. F. B. JACOBSON 2,196,115

TRAILER HITCH FiledSept. 30, 1939 E KW Qv. mbsm.

Patented Apr. 2, 1940 PATENT OFFICE" TRAILER HITCH Frank B. Jacobson, Dakota City, Iowa Application September 30, 1939, Serial No. 297,377

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in It so that the draft bar 8 may extend therebetrailer hitches.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a trailer hitch with an auxiliary coupling to prevent breaking away of the trailer from the vehicle in the event that breakage occurs adjacent the usual coupling or draft bar.

A further object of this invention is to provide an auxiliary flexible coupling member which will not hinder the operation of the usual coupling but will provide a safe connection should any part of the hitch'or tongue give way.

In most States, laws governing highways require a safety chain associated with the trailer coupling which must be strong enough to hold the load upon failure of operation of the coupling or in the event that any part thereof should become broken; It is also an object of this invention to provide a safety chain which is simplein operation vand'which may be economically constructed.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following description of the accompanying draw- 5 ing, wherein,

Figure 1 is a side elevational view illustrating the application of the safety chain'to a conventional trailer hitch;

Figure 2'is a top elevational view also illus- 30 trating the safety chain and showing the manner in which the same is looped around the bumper bar of the draft vehicle and the manner in which the free end is'detachab-ly held in place;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side ele- 35 vationa] view of the chain locking member; and

v Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary top elevational view of the chain locking device.

In the drawing, wherein for the purpose of illustration, there is shown a preferred embodiment 40 of the invention wherein like reference characters will be employed to designate like parts throughout the same and wherein the reference character 5 will be employed to generally designate a motor vehicle having a bumper bar 6 sup- 45 ported from the vehicle chassis by side bars 1.

A draw bar 8 is connected to the chassis and extends under the bumper bar 6 as at 9 and is clamped thereto by means of a clamping bar H]. The trailer I l is supported by wheels I2 and 50 is provided with a tow pole i3, the free end of which is provided with coupling bars I4 and I5 securely held in place by a pair of bolts 16 on the end of which is threaded nuts H. The forwardly projecting end of the parallel bar I5 is 55 angularly bent and spaced from the bar I4 as at tween .and be held in place by a U-shaped locking pin l9, one end of which as at 20 extends downwardly through openings in the bars I4, l8 and 8, while the opposite end is provided with a 5 coil spring 2| to retain the U-shaped locking pin 59 in its locked position. I

The invention comprises a plate 22 secured to the draw bar 53 by means of bolts 23 which are anchored in place by nuts 24 and secured to the 10 plate 22 is a pair of outwardly extending chain sections 25, the free ends of which are connected to plates 26 as at 21. The plates 26 are anchored tothe side edges of the trailer H by bolts or the like 28 and the opposite ends of the chain con- 16 nect with angular portions 29 formed on the plate 22.

An angular portion 30 is formed on the opposite end of the plate 22 and is provided with an opening for receiving a chain 3| adapted to extend go forwardly as shown in Figure 1 so that the, free end as at 32 may pass under and over the bumper bar 6 for connection with a locking plate carried by the upper surface of the draw bar l3.

The locking plate comprises a bar 33 anchored 25 to the draw bar l3 by means of the bolt 23 extending therethrough and it will be noted that the forward end of the locking bar projects upwardly as at 34 in spaced relation from the surface of the draft bar [3. Formed in the upwardly 30 projecting portion 34 there is formed a key hole slot including a circular portion 35 having a reduced slotted portion 36 communicating therewith as clearly shown in Figure 4. After the chain 3| has its free end 32 passed under and 35 over the bumper bar 6, it is fastened in the key hole slot by inserting the same through the circular portion 35 and allowing the link to slip forwardly into locking engagement with the slot 35.

A latch plate 31 is pivotally attached to the upwardly and forwardly projecting portion 34 and is held in place by a bolt 38 extending through openings therein having threaded on the opposite end a nut 39 to prevent the displacement of the s bolt 38. A coil spring 40 is interposed between the bolt head 38 and the swinging plate 31 to resiliently hold the plate 31 into face contact with the upwardly and forwardly extending portions v34 of the plate 33.

The free swinging end of the latch plate 31 is provided with an inwardly extending slot 4| adapted to register with the key hole slots 35 and 36 to engage the chain 32 as shown inFigure 2.

A finger piece 42 extends laterally from the latch a rear bumper guard, a trailer hitch associated therewith, a safety chain connecting the trailer hitch extending forwardly and under the bumper bar, a locking plate carried by the trailer hitch having a key hole slot therein for receiving the free end of the safety chain and means for looking the free end of the safety chain in the key hole slot.

2. In combination with a motor vehicle having a rear bumper guard, a trailer hitch and draft bar connecting the bumper guard and a safety chain connected to the underside of the draft bar extending forwardly under and over the bumper guard and a locking plate carried by the draft bar having a key hole slot for receiving the free end of the safety chain.

3. In combination with a motor vehicle having a rear bumper guard, a trailer hitch and a draft bar associated with the bumper guard, a safety chain connected to the underside of the draft bar and extending forwardly and under the bumper bar, the free end of the safety chain extending rearwardly to the upper side of the draft bar, a locking plate carried by the draft bar having a key hole slot for receiving the free end of the safety chain and a latch plate pivotally secured to the locking plate adapted to prevent displacement of the free end of the safety chain from disengagement with the key hole slot there- FRANK B. JACOBSON. 

